The United States is well?known for its network of major highways designed to help a driver get from one place to another in the shortest possible time.?　36　? these wide modern roads are generally ?　37　? and well maintained, with ?　38　? sharp curves and many straight ?　39　?,a direct route is not always the most ?　40　? one. Large highways often pass ?　41　? scenic areas and interesting small towns. Furthermore, these highways generally ?　42　? large urban centers which means that they become crowded with ?　43　? traffic during rush hours,?　44　? the “fast, direct” way becomes a very slow route. However, there is ?　45　? always another route to take ?　46　? you are not in a hurry. Not far from the ?　47　? new “superhighways”,there are often older,?　48　? heavily traveled roads which go through the countryside.?　49　? of these are good two lane roads; others are uneven roads ?　50　? through the country. These secondary routes may go up steep slopes, along hilly ?　51　? or down frightening hillsides to towns ?　52　? in deep valleys. Though these are less direct routes, longer and slower, they generally go to places ?　53　? the air is clear and the scenery is beautiful, and the driver may have a ?　54　? to get a fresh, clean ?　55　? of the world.

36. A. Although     B. Since  C. Because      D. Therefore

37. A. rough   B. splendid     C. smooth       D. complicated

38. A. little     B. few     C. much  D. many

39. A. selections     B. separations C. divisions    D. sections

40. A. terrible B. Possible     C. enjoyable   D. reasonable

41. A. to B. Into    C. over    D. by

42. A. lead     B. connect      C. collect D. provide

43. A. large    B. fast     C. light   D. heavy

44. A. when    B. for      C. but     D. that

45. A. yet       B. still     C. almost D. quite

46. A. unless   B. if C. as       D. since

47. A. relatively     B. regularly    C. reasonably  D. respectively

48. A. and      B. Less    C. more   D. or

49. A. All       B. Several      C. Lots    D. Some

50. A. driving B. crossing     C. curving      D. traveling

51. A. rocks    B. cliffs   C. roads  D. paths

52. A. lying    B. laying C. laid     D. lied

53. A. there    B. when  C. which D. where

54. A. space    B. period C. chance       D. spot

55. A. view    B. variety       C. visit    D. Virtue

The Fourth “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

　　Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

　　Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.

　　Co-sponsors（联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd., Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

　　Date: March 26（Friday）, 1999.

　　Place: Hilton Shanghai.

　　Competition Format （形式）: Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.

　　Prepared speech period: six minutes.

　　Q & A period: three minutes.

　　Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.

　　Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）

1.The main purpose of this passage is ________.

　　A. to invite you to take part in the competition

　　B. to tell you some information about the competition

　　C. to help to improve your spoken English

　　D. to show you how to win the competition

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.

　　A. Where and when it will take place.

　　B. Its programs.

　　C. What each winner will be offered.

　　D. The number of its competitors.

3.Suppose you get the sixth place, you’ll________ .

　　A. travel to London for free.

　　B. become a one - year member of IATEFL

　　C. get some money, some books and a certificate

　　D. get a chance to study in Singapore

4. An “off- hand speech” is________.

　　A. a speech not longer than three minutes

　　B. a speech without preparation

　　C. a speech with a piece of paper in hand

D. a speech which is well prepared

 

 

A sixth of undergraduates in Beijing this year have registered at driving school. The students, mostly from majors such as business management or international trade, will finish their driving courses within 20 days or so.

　　Training costs have dropped to 2, 600 yuan for students, according to the Haidian Driving School in Beijing. The price is not really low, but students will accept it, seeing it as an investment （投资）in their future. Familiarity with the operation of computers and fluent English are the basic skills graduating students need to find a job. But a driver’s permit has become another factor.

　　“In the job market, owning a driver’s permit sometimes strengthens a graduating student’s competitiveness for a good position, ”says Zhou Yang, an undergraduate at the China University of Political Science and Law.

　　Cars will become a necessary part of many people’s lives in the coming years, and it is difficult to get a permit out of campus because of the pressures on working people’s time. “Having a fulltime job after graduation offers limited time to learn to drive. We senior students have plenty of spare time, plenty of opportunity to learn. ”Zhou says.

　　Xu Jian, an official at the driving school, said undergraduates were very able and serious, and could grasp in an hour what ordinary people took four hours to learn. In this driving school, middle-aged people, young women and college students are the main customers.

　　To get a driver’s permit, a beginner is now required to have at least 86 hours’ practice before the final road test.

1.The undergraduates are learning to drive because ________.

A. they like to drive cars

B. they need this skill to find a good job

C. they will not have any time to learn to drive after they have found a full-time job

D. most of them will be able to buy cars in the future

2.Which of the following is likely to be Xu Jian’s opinion of students learning to drive?

A. It is better to learn it at college than at work.

B. Young people have an advantage in learning to drive.

C. It is a waste of money and time to learn to drive.

D. They will spend three times more time to learn to drive than usual.

3.Which of the following can be the best headline for the passage?

A. Students Learn to Drive.

B. Students Pay Less to Learn to Drive Now.

C. It is Better to Learn to Drive at Colleges.

D. Welcome to the Driving School.

 

The Fourth “21st Century Cup” National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.

　　Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.

　　Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association （CUESA）.

　　Co-sponsors（联办单位）: English Speaking Union （ESU）, Lotus Software （China）Co. Ltd., Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.

　　Date: March 26（Friday）, 1999.

　　Place: Hilton Shanghai.

　　Competition Format （形式）: Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.

　　Prepared speech period: six minutes.

　　Q & A period: three minutes.

　　Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony （和谐）in a new age ＋ your personal opinion. （Topics for the off-hand speech will be given on the day of competition）.

　　Prizes: Besides books and certificates （证书）, the top two winners will be offered scholarships（奖学金） to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language（IATEFL）

The main purpose of this passage is ________.

　　A. to invite you to take part in the competition

　　B. to tell you some information about the competition

　　C. to help to improve your spoken English

　　D. to show you how to win the competition

Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.

　　A. Where and when it will take place.

　　B. Its programs.

　　C. What each winner will be offered.

　　D. The number of its competitors.

Suppose you get the sixth place, you’ll________ .

　　A. travel to London for free.

　　B. become a one - year member of IATEFL

　　C. get some money, some books and a certificate

　　D. get a chance to study in Singapore

An “off- hand speech” is________.

　　A. a speech not longer than three minutes

　　B. a speech without preparation

　　C. a speech with a piece of paper in hand

D. a speech which is well prepared